Political/community experience: Representing HD13 since 2007. Member of Boulder Planning Board, co-chair of board of PLAN Boulder County, member of Boulder County Housing Authority and Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee.

Education: J.D., Case Western Reserve; B.A., Carleton College

Name a person you admire and explain why: Volunteer firefighters, who put their lives at risk and stay on fire lines knowing their own homes were burning.

What is the biggest economic obstacle facing HD13 and what will you do to stimulate growth if elected? HD13 is too diverse to identify one single obstacle. Each of the five counties in HD13 has a very different employment base and job opportunities. In general, I believe state government can do fairly little to directly stimulate economic growth. So my focus will be on enacting fiscal policies that result in better funding for education from preschool to post-secondary education.

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As a member of the Joint Budget Committee, I will insist that additional revenues over and above those forecast for the budget be saved for education. Beyond that, I will work on reducing congestion on I-70 by funding multi-modal transportation options, maintaining Colorado's recreational environment by keeping our air clean, preserving open space and keeping our rivers wild and flowing, and facilitating broadband access in the mountains through telecommunications reform.

Considering how ugly partisan infighting colored the end of the 2012 legislative session, what would you do to ensure politics doesn't get in the way of governing? I won't engage in ugly partisan infighting and haven't yet in my six years in office. I can get much more accomplished if I work without regard to party affiliation on solutions to problems that reflect common sense policies than worrying about political advantages. There is always a temptation to engage in tit-for-tat politics. While that may create a short-term advantage, it alienates voters and undermines the long-term support for the political party. It is the proverbial example of winning the battle but losing the war.

With the focus falling mainly on economic issues this year, what social issue is your top priority and what will you do to address it if elected? I will support passing bills allowing civil unions and allowing children of undocumented immigrants to attend college at in-state tuition rates. I will continue to work on changing insurance laws so people will know whether they have enough homeowner insurance BEFORE their home and possessions burn up in a fire. I hope this is the year Colorado repeals the death penalty, and I will sponsor and support such legislation if there are enough votes in both chambers to pass the bill. I will also continue my work on reforming criminal sentences so non-violent offenders who can safely be managed in the community are not using expensive prison beds.

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story